The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday unveiled a new TV advertisement ahead of Saturday’s legislative by-elections — the first and only ad the cash-strapped party intends to run.
The party has been scrambling to keep up with a series of attack ads launched by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) last week that took aim at Hualien DPP candidate Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴).
DPP Secretary-General Su Jia-chuan (蘇嘉全) said the ads focused on a positive theme in spite of the “tens of millions of dollars funneled by the KMT into its negative attacks on DPP candidates.”
Originally set to run tomorrow, the 30-second spot features each of the party’s four candidates in the Taoyuan, Hsinchu, Chiayi and Hualien by-elections and is voiced over by DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).
PLEA
The ad features an impassioned plea by the party leader that every seat is equally important for the DPP and that the party would work harder to listen to local voices.
“It is a sense of pride for us to attain the public’s trust and speak for them,” Tsai says in the ad.
LOW ON CASH
The release of the ad comes amid intense media speculation that the DPP is running out of money to fund media expenses ahead of the by-elections.
Chinese-language cable TV channel TVBS reported last week that the party had only budgeted NT$2.5 million (US$78,000) for the four seats up for grabs on Saturday and the earlier by-elections on Jan. 9.
Party officials confirmed that this would be the only TV commercial released by party headquarters before Saturday.
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